In closing out this blog series, I thought I would provide some personal history as to where debate has taken me and where it might guide me in the future. I’ll split this up into three parts to keep it streamlined.
Past
I won’t stretch this out for too long, but as I believe I’ve mentioned in the past, I joined the Forensics club at my high school as a sophomore and competed mainly as a Public Forum debater (occasionally PHSSL Parli) for 3 years. I was primarily a first speaker, though second speaker when not with my main partner, and I served as a debate captain during my senior year of high school. Joining the club and developing myself as a speaker made an immense impact on the way that I presented myself to others. I was terrified of public speaking prior to joining the club, and I always was a bit shy when trying to speak up. Being a first speaker meant that I had to learn to be confident in my ideas and arguments — if I didn’t even sound like I believed myself, no one else would either. Reflecting back on my experience with the club, I’m sure that I wouldn’t be nearly as well spoken as I am today had I not joined. I attribute much of my speaking and critical thinking skills to Forensics, and I’m proud to say that I found a home in an activity that I joined as a joke.
Posing with my PF partner, who is the only reason I joined forensics.
Present
During the first semester of college, I ended up bowing out of the competitive forensics scene. I attended the first two meetings of the PSU Speech & Debate Society, but I wasn’t convinced that it would be the same and so I stopped going. I think this legitimately had a lot to do with why I felt really bored and somewhat empty last semester: I’m a very competitive person, and the combination of losing my favorite extracurricular at the same time as I lost my favorite sport (soccer) left a hole in me that I couldn’t fill. That’s why I went back to try one more time at the end of the semester — I showed up to literally the last Speech & Debate Society meeting of the fall semester and ended up being tossed into a practice debate in an all new format. It was just as fun as I remembered, and I was encouraged by the reactions I received from the coach and my new teammates. Consequently, I’m currently an NPDA Parli debater on the PSU team, and I also partake in public events held by the Society throughout the school year. I also work closely with my wonderful girlfriend as a coach for the State High (our high school) Forensics team, particularly teaching PF and some PHSSL Parli. Both of these roles are fantastic and I truly enjoy doing them, but the most important result of my continued engagement in forensics is that the hole in my heart has been filled since I began to get involved again.
The current generation of the State High Forensics team allows me to hold one of their trophies.
Future
Where will forensics take me? I’m not sure. I do know that I hope to become a wildly successful college debater, and I also aim to help my high schoolers develop not only so that they can win tournaments, but also so that their oratorical skills can be groomed just as mine once were. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to escape the activity, particularly with so many ways to stay involved — I could be a competitor, coach, or judge for just about as long as I desire. Probably the most useful application of forensics moving forward will be my ability to use speaking skills when giving scientific presentations. In a field where many people are seen as stereotypical nerds who don’t know much about talking, I truly believe that being confident in my ability to speak well will put me a leg up on some of my contemporaries.
Maybe I can surpass this kind of commitment to forensics in the future.
I can’t emphasize enough how much I think everyone should try debate. As someone who was terrified of public speaking, I can proudly say that my mind has been changed. Yes, competitive debate isn’t for everyone, but that’s okay — even if you never step foot in a real round, the communication skills that this activity teaches are second to none and cannot be found anywhere else. Furthermore, the people that I’ve met along my journey are some of the closest friends that I have. Surrounding yourself with witty orators is arguably one of the best things to do if you’re trying to become better at public speaking, particularly since they enjoy showing off (as debaters naturally do). For friends, fun, and real world skills, join forensics — you’ll never look back.